Though perhaps most familiar for the standard "Autumn Leaves,"
composer Joseph Kosma also scored several of the greatest films in
cinematic history, including a series of pictures for legendary
director Jean Renoir. Born in Budapest, Hungary on October 22, 1905,
he studied at the Budapest Conservatory, earning a scholarship to
the Berlin Opera before joining Bertolt Brecht's touring company in
1929. Working alongside Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler proved a major
influence on Kosma's own work as he began writing his earliest film
scores, and after settling in Paris in 1933 he began his
collaboration with Renoir on 1936's Le Crime de Monsieur Lange;
their partnership subsequently yielded 1937's La Grande Illusion and
1939's La Rhgle du Jeu, both deserving of serious consideration
among the finest motion pictures ever made. Kosma also scored the
1945 Marcel Carni classic Les Enfants du Paradis; that same year,
the composer also teamed with the film's screenwriter, Jacques
Privert, on the ballet Rendezvous. He and Privert also collaborated
on a number of songs, including the 1947 perennial "Autumn Leaves"
(adapted in English by Johnny Mercer), but by and large Kosma's
compositions gravitated more towards classical themes than pop,
including the 1954 operetta Les Chansons de Bilitis and a handful of
comic operas including 1962's Un Amour Electronique and 1964's La
Revolte des Canuts. He died near Paris on August 7, 1969. ~ Jason
Ankeny, All Music Guide

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